Kentucky Derby Alumni Update: Honor Marie set to make 4-year-old debut

Mar 21, 2025 Sara Dacus/TwinSpires.com

Honor Marie wins the 2023 Kentucky Jockey Club (Coady Photography)

Honor Marie, a 2024 Kentucky Derby alumnus, is set to make his four-year-old debut in Oaklawn’s American Pharoah Overnight S. on March 29, part of the Arkansas Derby (G1) undercard. After racing in the Travers S. (G1), the bay colt took time off before resuming training in January. On March 7, he delivered an impressive bullet workout, breezing five furlongs in 1:00.6 at Fair Grounds—the fastest of 34 at the distance.

“He’s had a couple of great months,” trainer Whit Beckman said. “We couldn’t be happier with how he’s developed—his attitude, how he’s moving—everything we look for in a happy, healthy horse.”

A Louisville native and son of an equine veterinarian, Beckman worked under Chad Brown, Eoin Harty, and Todd Pletcher (which included experience with 2010 Derby winner Super Saver) before training in Saudi Arabia. He returned home and launched his own stable in late 2021.

Honor Marie delivered a milestone victory for Beckman, giving him the first graded stakes win of his career in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2), which closed out the colt’s two-year-old season. As a sophomore, Honor Marie stamped himself as a Derby contender with a runner-up finish in the Louisiana Derby (G2).

In just his third year as a trainer, Beckman saddled Honor Marie for the Kentucky Derby, held on the day the colt officially turned three. Facing competition from Pletcher-trained Fierceness and Brown-trained Sierra Leone, Honor Marie was bumped at the start, encountered traffic, and finished eighth.

“I grew up in Louisville,” Beckman said. “This was not just a highlight of my racing career but of my life, and I’ll always be eternally grateful for that.”

Honor Marie remained in top company post-Derby, finishing fourth in the Belmont S. (G1) before contesting the Travers.

Beckman plans to use the American Pharoah S. as a measuring stick for Honor Marie’s return and to map out his 2025 campaign. If all goes well, he could be pointed to the Alysheba S. (G2) on Kentucky Oaks day.

Meanwhile, Beckman has three fillies on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. Drexel Hill has likely secured enough points for the starting gate, while Her Laugh is entered in Saturday’s Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), and Simply Joking will compete in Oaklawn’s Fantasy S. (G2), which is also on the Arkansas Derby program.